Three ‘eco’ dog sticks for $13!? Um…

Fetchstix, a new company, will sell you sticks for your dog for cold hard cash. A good plan… or not so much?

This new ‘eco’ company is selling Vermont Maple saplings in sets of three to dog owners everywhere. I wasn’t planning on posting this at all (more on why in a sec) but then today I ran across this piece: Guide to the bleeding obvious, which made me laugh, and I wanted to share. The bleeding guide is a hilarious look at Fetchstix. It’s totally worth a read, but that might be where the funny stops; at least for green-minded dog owners.

Here’s the scoop. I get a promo email about 12 days ago about said Fetchstixs. I head to the site, because natural dog toys seem pretty green to me, and what am I greeted with? The image below.

I find it funny when people send me emails about products for my green blogs then send me to a site with a forest that’s there one minute and gone the next. I also see that the sticks are made with saplings, which excuse me if I misunderstand, but aren’t saplings baby trees! I think to myself, maybe they’re getting these sticks from scraps, so I look around the website and nothing.

I email back noting one, I don’t write about pets, and two, I might if the pet product is eco-friendly but that I’m not seeing the eco-connection here. It’s been 12 days and I haven’t heard back so I’m guessing there is no eco-connection.

If you top off this product with emissions made by the shipping process, this becomes an even less suitable ‘eco’ dog toy. That said if you bookmark their page you’ll see they’ve tagged it with “Funny eco gifts for dog lovers” so… I don’t know, maybe they think it’s an eco gift.

Around the eco-blogosphere folks are on the fence as well.

Treehugger is ambivalent. BUT read the comments to see what their readers think (not so on board).

There are also folks who aren’t so on the fence. Some of us think this is a lame idea. Like Pet Show Blog and this person who I randomly found on Facebook – BTW – I’m not on board, I wouldn’t buy them. I can’t sign on with these as a green product. Sorry folks.

Jennifer, I too actually thought the before and after forest photo was odd! However, this is still better than a plastic chew toy made in a factory where trees used to stand. Also, there’s less pollution. But, there is still the whole tree issue.

Do you think that maybe these sticks come from branches, not the whole tree?

http:///members/jenniferch/ Jennifer Chait

I have no idea. If the company would email me back maybe I’d know. I was trying to be open minded about it, but a ‘sapling’ by def, is a baby tree, not technically a branch. I agree about the toxic part. The plastic baddie dog toys are no good either, but shipping wood? It just, on top of other questions I have seems so not eco-minded. UNLESS they buy credits or use renewable energy or something, but again, they won’t email back.

It’s funny though, I had seen the stick post at AC and TH but when I did a search, yours was one of the only others that came up Funny.

JulieF

You knew I’d stop by, didn’t you?

This is just ridiculous, especially if the ‘toys’ aren’t harvested from scrap. Even if they are- $13? For sticks?

Seriously, this has to be a joke company, a joke product, put out there by someone who thought it would be fun to see just how far those infatuated with ‘green’ will go in endorsing something. Possibly why you haven’t gotten a response.

For real, why would anyone buy sticks? For crying out loud, someone living in the city- like myself- can find old sticks that have fallen off a tree naturally.

And dear Gods, folks, don’t come back at me with something like “These sticks are safe, a dog could get poisoned on one you just pick up.” I’ve lived on farms, grew up handling dogs, and I’ve yet to see a dog so moronic that it would eat an entire poisonous tree.

JulieF

Just checked over the site. It’s a joke. Really, don’t let anyone else you know get duped into reviewing these, they’ll just look like fools and get laughed at as ‘Look at those idiot eco people, they’ll buy anything’

http://www.blisstree.com/topic/pets/ Peggy Rowland

Julie, do you think they’d hire a PR firm to promote a joke? I did get an email response from their PR people, but I was only asking for a photo and credit. I didn’t call these “eco-friendly” in my post in Pets. However, maybe it’s true that some city folks can’t find sticks??

I don’t know. I thought about this one a long time before posting. I don’t think it’s a joke, but it’s not exactly green either.

http:///members/jenniferch/ Jennifer Chait

I don’t think it’s a joke because of the PR company. I still don’t think it’s a good idea though either. The ONLY way I could see buying sticks would be if some kid in my neighborhood started a local business, and even then I’d say, “Well, kid, how did you harvest these?” It’s just not very green past the non-toxic aspects. But I can’t see them sending out PR on a total joke. Although, you never know. I just saw meat water the other day and almost thought that was real, even though it’s disgusting. But the website was so real. I should post that!

JulieF

Yeah, I do think they’d hire a PR company. This just reeks to high heaven of ‘they’ll buy anything, for any price, if we call it ‘GREEN’

Seriously. Think about it.

Sticks. For god’s sake, STICKS. If there are people out there stupid enough to buy sticks, then they deserve the $13 price tag on kindling.

http://www.celebrategreen.net Lynn

I got the release too. My initial reaction was, “You’ve GOT to be kidding.” Who is going to pay for STICKS? But then I remembered the millions who paid for pet rocks! We greenies can be an especially serious lot. I wasn’t sure whether it was a joke or not, but either way, I didn’t want to touch it with a ten foot stick! Guess they’re getting publicity either way so I suppose this is one way to do it.